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Upcoming Eventsand Deadlines

Become an SPJ Member

For more than 100 years the Society of Professional Journalists has been dedicated to encouraging a climate in which journalism can be practiced more freely and fully, stimulating high standards and ethical behavior in the practice of journalism and perpetuating a free press.

About the Foundation

Since its founding in 1961, the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation has promoted excellence and ethics in journalism. The SDX Foundation is a tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) organization that supports the educational programs of the Society of Professional Journalists and serves the professional needs of journalists and students pursuing careers in journalism.

Excellence in Journalism 2016Sept 7-9, 2017 – Anaheim

Excellence in Journalism is the national journalism conference of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Radio Television Digital News Association. Join us in September in Anaheim for training, networking, workshops and more!

SPJ Leads

SPJ News

SPJ Blogs: Newest Posts

Quill Headlines

Journalist's Toolbox

@SPJ_Tweets

Connect with SPJ

SPJ on Facebook

Upcoming Eventsand Deadlines

Become an SPJ Member

For more than 100 years the Society of Professional Journalists has been dedicated to encouraging a climate in which journalism can be practiced more freely and fully, stimulating high standards and ethical behavior in the practice of journalism and perpetuating a free press.

About the Foundation

Since its founding in 1961, the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation has promoted excellence and ethics in journalism. The SDX Foundation is a tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) organization that supports the educational programs of the Society of Professional Journalists and serves the professional needs of journalists and students pursuing careers in journalism.

Excellence in Journalism 2016Sept 7-9, 2017 – Anaheim

Excellence in Journalism is the national journalism conference of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Radio Television Digital News Association. Join us in September in Anaheim for training, networking, workshops and more!

Diversity CommitteeOn both chapter and national levels, SPJ provides an open forum for the discussion of diversity issues in journalism. This committee's purpose is to promote a broader voice in newsrooms across the country and expand the depth and quality of news reports through better sourcing. Its ongoing project is the compilation of experts — primarily women, gays and lesbians, people of color and people with disabilities — through the Society's Diversity Source Book. The Society's relevance to its member is based on inclusiveness.

SPJ is committed to expanding the range of voices and perspectives incorporated
in the news. It is at the core of our mission to promote quality, integrity,
fairness, accuracy and thoroughness in reporting. Your chapter can contribute
by helping to build the Rainbow Source Book.

Why is this project important?

 To improve news coverage of ethnic and other minority communities, making
it more inclusive and accurate.
 To include a breadth of sources in ALL areas of the news.
 To build trust in the mainstream media, connect with the readers/audience,
and help avoid representing people in stereotypical and primarily negative
ways.

How to complete this project

All professional and student SPJ chapters are required to complete one diversity
program for the year. Gathering sources for the SPJ Rainbow Rolodex can serve
as that project.

 Use the sample flier to spark interest among chapter members and to give
general background on the project.
 Gather sources who are experts in key news areas and members of underrepresented
groups. (see Finding Sources At The Local Level)
 Ask chapter members to enter the sources into the online database using
the form provided. Or, you can create printed forms.
 In addition to gathering sources, consider designing a program on how to
develop better sources and/or how to report on communities other than your
own. Invite speakers from different communities and/or journalists who’ve
had experience reporting about various communities.
 If you have any questions about this project, please contact Sally Lehrman,
national diversity chair, at slehrman(at)bestwrit.com
or call 650-728-8211.

Why we need your help

 Your efforts are crucial to the expansion of this national sourcebook.
As a journalist and member of SPJ, you have the connections to your local
community that the project hopes to reflect.
 Your help in gathering sources will move the project along quickly. As
a reporter or editor committed to accuracy and fair representation, ultimately,
the sourcebook will help you.

Use the information below to answer questions about the project

 What: Local sources to add to the SPJ National Rainbow Source Book.
This is our database of qualified experts on key news topics, organized by
subject area and updated regularly.
 Who: Focus on people of color, women, gays and lesbians, people with
disabilities and people with links to the poor and disenfranchised; in general,
those who are historically underrepresented in the news. Sources should be
experts in targeted subject areas such as health, technology and transportation.
 Why: Our source book is a valuable reference for journalists who
want to improve the accuracy and quality of reporting by broadening the perspectives
and voices represented in the media. Your local sources will further link
underrepresented communities and readers to the mainstream media.
 How: Gather sources from reporters, your community, and professional
organizations and universities.

We are seeking sources from or knowledgeable about groups who are historically
underrepresented in the media. These include ethnic or religious minorities,
women, gays and lesbians, people with disabilities and people who have close
ties to the poor and disenfranchised.

 Seek out prominent faculty from your local university who are experts in
their field and who belong to one or more of the groups targeted above.
 Call the community organizations in your area and talk to the directors
about this project. Enlist their help in culling sources in their community.
(The sourcebook, however, is not a list of organizations and their directors.
Our goal is to reach out into the community for people who have expertise
in certain news areas in order to maintain credibility.)
 Sift through your Rolodex for sources you have used in the past who fit
the criteria for this project.
 Brainstorm with other professionals and/or students. Convince chapter members
and other journalists to share a few of their reliable sources. (Reassure
them that they can keep their top-tier sources to themselves. We just need
a few good names and numbers from everyone.)
 Review ethnic and community media in your area for leads.
 Use your own knowledge about who is prominent in your university or community
who you may not have consulted as a source but who possesses a deep understanding
of certain news topics.
 Keep in mind that the goal is quality, not necessarily quantity. To make
this book useful, we want names of people who are truly experts in a given
field, not people who simply like to offer their opinions and comments. It’s
important that you include a description of the general background of the
source, including profession, position(s) held, affiliated university or organization,
and past accomplishments related to a source’s area of expertise.

Tips on sourcing

 Call more than once; at least twice!
 Follow up phone calls with email, but be sure to talk to your candidate
live.
 When leaving phone or email messages, set a deadline for the candidate to
return your call.
 Ask your candidate for more names and check his or her organization’s
web site for interesting links.
 Set goals for number of sources gathered.

Rainbow Source Book Style

Please use AP style with these particulars:

 Downstyle on titles unless they’re immediately in front of the person’s
name
 Periods in Ph.D.
 Commas and periods in Washington, D.C.
 Parentheses for area codes
 Postal abbreviations for states
 Mixture of phrases and complete sentences in general background are okay
 Separate complex lists such as those in general background with semi-colons,
but don’t be afraid to break overwhelming lists into a couple of easier-to-read
sentences
 Say it with brevity
 Don’t repeat info. If it says Ph.D. under advanced degrees, no need
to start general background with ”So-and-So, Ph.D., is a …”
 No courtesy titles
 When listing American Indians, please name the source’s tribe in the
general background section.

Diversity CommitteeOn both chapter and national levels, SPJ provides an open forum for the discussion of diversity issues in journalism. This committee's purpose is to promote a broader voice in newsrooms across the country and expand the depth and quality of news reports through better sourcing. Its ongoing project is the compilation of experts — primarily women, gays and lesbians, people of color and people with disabilities — through the Society's Diversity Source Book. The Society's relevance to its member is based on inclusiveness.